Digital technology to face COVID-19: a case study in primary care

ABSTRACT

In developed countries, the use of digital technological resources is a powerful tool to face COVID-19. However, in Brazil, the implementation of these resources in the public health clinics is still very deficient and not prioritized by the management. The purpose of this paper is to report the experience of implementing the InfoSaúde application, started in July 2020, in primary care, for the optimization of actions aimed at controlling COVID-19 in a vulnerable community. The definition of application requirements and operational flows was based by standardized questionnaires for health professionals and users, which resulted in three macro-processes: Prevention, Care and Monitoring, tested and validated by professionals and users with an interface to the clinic’s information system. The results were as follows: a) Return to prevention actions with remote information; b) Streamlining interventions by integrating the Assistance, Laboratory and Surveillance sectors; reduction of work overload and occupational risk with distance activities and, c) Improvement in the information system and capacity for early intervention at a distance. The implementation of a simple technological resource in primary care is feasible, contributing to comprehensive care, reducing occupational risk, and workload.

KEYWORDS
Portable electronic applications; Applications software, computer; COVID-19; Coronavirus infection